Kids eating lunch during a health and wellness event in Quincy at Carter-Parramore Academy in Gadsden County, which has high poverty. (Photo by Candiace Williams/Center for Health Equity)
“A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” — African proverb
The United States, according to Credit Suisse, was the wealthiest nation in the world in 2022, with net wealth of $145.8 trillion, and the second wealthiest country in the world per capita at $555,147.
Florida similarly ranks in the top 10 economically in America, with an economy that generated more than $1.65 trillion in 2024.
Republicans love to talk during their political campaigns and public pronouncements about “saving the children,” yet, to their eternal shame, Florida and many of the other states in the union also have a hunger — specifically, a child hunger — problem.
According to Feeding America, more than 2.3 million people endure hunger in Florida, with researchers estimating that between 613,000 and 800,000 of them are children.
No Kid Hungry Florida issued a report in 2024 that detailed food insecurity’s effects on low-income and even middle-income Florida families and children as a result of the increasingly untenable cost of living. The report found that 72% of Floridians found it more difficult to afford groceries compared to the year before.
“This burden isn’t limited to lower-income households; 60% of middle-income families, earning between $50,000 to $99,000, are also feeling the pinch. Amidst a growing affordability crisis, putting nutritious meals on the table has become a daunting task for many,” the report says.
The result is greater financial strain, with 33% of respondents admitting to contending with food insecurity in the past year, “skipping meals entirely or not eating enough nutritious food because they can’t afford to buy enough groceries for their families.”
Florida families are often caught in a maelstrom of being the “working homeless” — rising food prices; wages and salaries that fall far short of supporting families; burgeoning inflation; scarce jobs; a severe shortage of affordable housing; rents above the ability of families to pay.
Duty of care
In the midst of all this, I think often of our children. Mine are 34, 30, and 29, but all of us who call ourselves caring, responsible adults have a moral duty to take care of the most vulnerable in our communities.
There are organizations that step into the breach, like food banks. There are school- and summer food programs financed by our tax dollars, but they are constantly threatened by cruel, heartless budget cutters.
Every time I hear about efforts to eviscerate the country’s school lunch and summer lunch programs, I remember the deeply sobering African proverb above.
This proverb reminds us of how important it is for adults to shoulder the collective responsibility for raising and nurturing all our children. That admonition is one that appears to have escaped Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republicans in Congress, and other GOP policy wonks and cronies.
Child hunger has become nakedly partisan, as evidenced by those so-called leaders who continue to wage war against America’s poor and middle class. Twice in the past two years, DeSantis has refused more than $500 million of federal monies for summer lunch programs. His people claim that programs already operating in the state can more than handle the need.
In December 2023, Mallory McManus, deputy chief of staff of the Florida Department of Children and Families, told reporters: “We anticipate that our state’s full approach to serving children will continue to be successful this year without any additional federal programs that inherently always come with some federal strings attached.”
800,000+ hungry kids
Advocates and activists on the ground strenuously disagreed.
“One of the statements we continue to hear is that Florida already offers summer meal programs and therefore we’re good, we don’t really need a program such as Sun Bucks [a federal food program]. I surely wish that were true,” said Sky Beard, Florida program director of No Kid Hungry. “The work we and other partners do demonstrates that’s an inaccurate perception. Less than 10% of children who participate in free and reduced lunch during the school year are also able to get a summer meal.”
In Florida, Feeding America reports, more than 2.9 million people face hunger — and, of them, 819,940 are children. One in eight Floridians suffers food insecurity and one in five are children.
In the Sunshine State, 38.3% of households receiving SNAP benefits have children, while $4 million distributed through SNAP generated $6.9 million in economic activity, with economists estimating that every dollar a household redeems through SNAP generates about $1.70 in economic activity, Feeding America officials say.
Nutritional, pediatric, and other experts say that in 2023, almost 14 million children across America faced hunger. African American, Latino, and Native American households experience the highest incidence. Black and Latino children are nearly twice as likely to face hunger.
Further, single-parent families are more likely to suffer. Managing expenses can be tough with one source of income. In 2023, 1 in 3 households headed by single moms and 1 in 4 households headed by single dads experienced food insecurity, Feeding America found.
Public health
A report by Gray Group International concludes that “addressing hunger and food insecurity is essential to improve public health in the modern world.” The alternative is untenable: obesity, diabetes, and malnutrition, as well as long-term physical and mental health problems.
“In addition, poor nutrition can lead to decreased productivity at work or school, decreased quality of life, and economic hardship for those affected. Hunger has been linked to higher rates of crime and violence in some cases, further highlighting the importance of tackling this issue. Furthermore, tackling hunger can help reduce healthcare costs associated with malnutrition-related illnesses and diseases.”
Other states aren’t as stingy as Florida. In Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Ohio, bipartisan coalitions have started or expanded school breakfast and/or lunch programs, The Intercept reports.
California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, and Vermont have universal school lunch programs and another 26 are considering doing so, the report continues. Nevada deployed leftover Covid-19 relief money to this end.
These examples show that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel — there are any number of examples upon which to draw. It is incumbent on all of who’re concerned about our children’s futures to get this done.
Floridians, especially the youngest among us, deserve better.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.